He said: “It’s a great honour for Pip and for the food festival. Pip’s is extremely knowledgeable on the subject of wine in general and champagne in particular.

“And the poor man must have suffered. But as I say, somebody’s got to do it.” added Colin with a wry smile.

Gales, thought to be the first wine bar in Wales, was opened by Pip’s parents, Richard andGillie Gale, in 1977 after narrowly obtaining planning permission following much public protest. It has since become a part of the town’s fabric.

Pip said: “It was a revolutionary idea in those days. We had people protesting, and we only got through by the slimmest of margins on the planning because people didn’t understand wine.

“It was a really quite tricky concept back then. All of the pubs complained and everybody gave us a month before we called time on the new venture - and now we’re the oldest licence in town.”

Colin Loughlin added this year's festival was shaping up to be one of the best ever.

He said: "This year Graham Tinsley, the star of ITV's Taste the Nation and a former captain of the Welsh Culinary Team, will be joined in the show kitchen at the festival by the ever popular Dai Chef.

"We have a wonderful array of fantastic food producers clustered in the area and the festival is the perfect shop window for them.

"Hamper Llangollen is celebrating its 16th anniversary this year and is firmly and rightly established as a major highlight in the UK's culinary calendar."

Robert Price, Cadwyn Clwyd's agri-food project officer, said: "In addition to many favourites, we have lots of new food producers wanting to come this year.

"The location of the Pavilion is absolutely spectacular - I can't imagine that any other food festival in the UK has a more beautiful setting.

"It's also brilliant news for the local economy. If you buy from a local producer, all that money is recycled through the local economy and that sustains employment in our rural areas."